A long day: KFC to 500 days of summer

random post

Yesterday was the very last day of 152.

It was  one of the most longest days I had to go without sleep but it was worth it.

The journey that was Ramcar…

the day before I was awake from 5pm up to 5am (the 26th) the very next day,.went to GMa-kamuning to meet my group mates, took a cab to Ramcar and something fell out when I was getting out (it was either a violet/yellowish bill:(), went in, my laptop wasn’t working, finally it worked, did the pitch and then went to school, met my friends and the best part of my day….went to bed and slept for eight hours:)

TROJAN

I had a very personal talk with my laptop that day. It was already weak two days before the pitch due to the various documents and videos eating up its memory card, that day I was truly nervous and I believe I had the tendency to cry since it wasn’t working and took at least 10 minutes at every loading step (the windows logo, the compaq logo…:() luckily it worked, after having had borrowed a rosary from Dasi(thanks Dasi) and the “himas-himas” together with ate hanna (thanks ate hanna):). I don’t really name the things I have like other people but after that pitch, I’ll name my laptop, Trojan(christian suggested it..hahaha) from now on to always remember the day it almost died but gave way after talking to it and saying ” last na to kaya natin to” haha.  I’ll let it rest for now after a hard earned three weeks worth of non-stop work:)

Good things that happened

though I lost the yellowish/violet  bill (it kinda still hurts to utter the number..:(:( )that day when I was getting out from the taxi, I still hope that it made the taxi driver’s day but though that happened, though I didn’t even cry nor thought too much about it, I was really glad that things turned out great after that…

• our pitch went great….not so many hard questions asked but as Sir Barry said we just needed to improve on one aspect of the pitch..hehe
• my laptop whose heart was almost dying made a miraculous comeback and had let me get some of the files we needed.:):)
• ate hanna treated me to a chocolate brownie at KFC (thanks ate hanna)
• went to school and had a fun chat with my group mates (dasi, christian and nancy)
• made it on time to school at 12nn to pass my paper for OC 145 …ran all the way to DAC..hehe
• receive a snickers chocolate bar from ate Novs (thanks ate novs..:):))..
• got out of DAC and learned that the coalescence is not on Oct. 27 but on Nov. 27, which means I could sleep the whole day:)
• learned that we don’t have anymore requirements (except for me, the 152 blog comments)
• just right after shouting with joy of having no more requirements to pass…a miracle text came from my friends (whom I haven’t seen for a really long time) asking me if I’m free to hang out
• talked a bit with my classmates and got treated to a bottle of mineral water (..didn’t have anymore money but the mineral water + snickers was enough, I really wasn’t that hungry..hehe)
• then met up with my friends and watched 500 days of summer (reallllllly greeeeeeat movieeee):):)
• finally went to sleep on my soft pillow and bed…:):)

 

watch it...it's so great:):)

 

 

Sometimes the most toxic and sad (still can’t forget the lost bill) days can be really great, it’s all just a matter of perspective…:):)

bye (for now..hehe):)

Cute Voices and HAPPY BESTS! :):)

16th lecture post

Last Saturday was our last class in 152. Honestly, I would say it was truly a roller coaster of a learning experience. After the second to the last requirement (we still have the communication plan) I was able to breathe a little bit.  The podcasts presented by the groups were great, I liked the voices and how everyone tried to create a story through the podcast.

After Sir Barry’s reminders on always take in mind people, “PEOPLE FIRST AND FOREMOST” and the thing about being your happiest best, I remembered why I should write again in my comm blog. I was reminded of being my happy self whenever I accomplish things and not being able to accomplish my blogs on time were a bit of a drag.  I was also reminded of the reason why I enrolled in 152 instead of 133; maybe it was all just coincidence. Honestly I was happy with the course description and after talking with my adviser (sir burn  hehe) he agreed to let me take 152 instead of 133.

My 152 experience opened me to a lot of new things. I met new people, I got to know better those whom I knew before, I had fun and I had a lot of hands-on experience that I think will prepare me for the next  HARD (math is an alien subject..Hehe) semester.

Though there were a lot of requirements, it made me realize that I don’t have to over think everything and to just keep going and to do your very best, because it just makes you frustrated when you don’t meet your own expectations.  I think I also learned to become very patient with myself ( because sometimes I do procrastinate  and my  lazy self always gets the better of me when I get overwhelmed with doing too many things)  and to really improve my time management skills.

I think that after this semester and after Oct. 26 (OMG!! the same day we held the 25^th orcom conference, Sept.26.haha…big coincidence? Nope, it jus t means that the 26^th is always the d-day) I’ll go to bed and sleep and think about happy things because this I think is the happiest best for my mental state right now, Hehe.

BOUNCE, BOUNCE MS. BOUNCER!!

Random post

16th post

As for this random post, I would like to share my night of being the bouncer at the cirque event. It was a really fun night, although I spent most of the night outside, I got to drink lots of free drinks, almost won a raffle prize (they uttered # 34 but it’s almost close to #33 too right. Haha. The “number thirty—….” was the really exciting part). I also got to eat lots of fruits and waffles.

The Ants was great too, it’s a drink made out of sugar, which tasted a bit like honey, YUM. As the bouncer, I got to know the other bouncer (I called him Kuya, but for others he was the door guy who looked like a man from the marines, he was wearing this white kind of soldier uniform with gold tassels at the side). I also crossed my arms from time to time (whenever my classmates would enter. Haha) and bounced the night away.

The only thing I regret did not know that I will be assigned the task of being the bouncer ahead of time if I had known; I would have worn my bouncer shirt, instead of wearing party clothes…so as to achieve the full bouncer effect. Haha.

cirque :)

ONDOY on FACEBOOK

Random post

15th post

The flooded registration table

From the heading above, it is obvious that I am talking about at what happened at the conference last September 26. It was the day that said you had to have not only a Plan B but up to Plan Z (what will you do if your event gets flooded?). I was the in charge of the registration table and boy was I shocked to see that the table that one of my group mates had skirted the night before (my classmate says this is what you call the technique of designing tables with cloth). Luckily the programs and souvenirs were saved.

I was actually surprised and amazed that even up to the time that we were already packing up the things to move them upstairs at the department, there were two freshmen who were the very last to register (about 12noon) and who were very nice to say that the souvenir programs looked great. I was also thankful that many came to the conference even though it was raining hard and it was already storm signal #1 (when I listened to the radio at about 4am that very day).

picture2...after the conference

walking with my classmates in the knee high flood waters

FACEBOOK

On Monday, I checked my FB account, and I was amazed at how the power of FB gave way to the many things that people wanted to share, do or just for people to know. I was actually glad that I checked my account or I would never have known that my high school in Q.C. got flooded and they were looking for volunteers for the clean-up. I saw through the pictures how the flood destroyed the classrooms that I had the best times with my friends. Also through FB, people were telling their “baha stories” and it made me aware that not only was I affected by the flood but many whom I know even lost their homes.  The tagged pictures and cause invites also made me want to give and help out in any way I can.

THE ACCUSED

Though FB could help people and to reach out to people it could also (I think) destroy a person’s reputation. When I watched the news that weekend, there was this information about a girl named Jackie who got emails and threats on her online accounts especially on her FB because of one of her shout outs which kind of said this “those Filipinos in the Philippines are all sinners..Haha..Good for them…that was their punishment from God“.

The girl said that she was not the one who posted it and that someone had hacked into her account had posted it.  After having the words posted on her FB account, she was criticized on fb seconds later and many were leaving comments that were either hurtful or even sounded like a threat. I think that people should be wary of the damage that online media can do to other people’s reputation and that they shouldn’t always get revenge. Sometimes it’s best to just ask the person about why they are like that rather than get revenge on them in the meanest possible way.

pics:

from Zid Santos’s FB photos..thanks ZID!

Changing the world through Communication and leadership

14th LEcture Post

Last Sept. 26, 2009 was the day our orcom conference was held.  There were many things that  I was trying to handle that day but luckily I was still able to listen to Ms. Yolly Ong our keynote speaker.

During that day too, most people who attended the conference got stranded on their way home and others were left behind at the school. While others who got home clicked on their TVs, watched the news and shared what they felt on facebook.

Facebook as Ms. Yolanda Ong said has become our way of sharing what we feel to the world and mostly to the people around us (our FB friends and contacts). But after her speech, the one liner she said struck a chord among many speakers and up until the conference ended; her name was still mentioned by the last speaker.

Her line: “face time is still better than facebook.”

She said that although we may have relied on social networks to share what we feel and to communicate, still face to face communication is much better than any kind of communication technology.

Face to face enables you to get your feelings across through body language, your tone and voice and makes you avoid misunderstandings. While other forms of communication makes you lose the ability to communicate face to face and most of the time the words are not enough, people need to see you to talk to you so that you could understand each other.

When I took up Orcom 107 (intercultural communication) last semester, I remembered that we also tackled on the different aspects of body language and how gestures, facial expressions and even eye movements could communicate what you are really trying to say even without the words.

One of my classmates back then said that though we’d like the other person to feel how we’re feeling by putting on lots of smiley and cute emoticons on our messages, it’s still different.

If we’re able to improve on our ability to communicate effectively face to face then we would become more effective leaders. Ms. Ong said that every leader has a vision, a never changing paradigm.  When she said this I was actually amazed at how she combined the difficult theme of the conference with something that’s easy to understand. I guess what she said about leaders being the best communicators are true, because she’s a good example of that.

But as she said, leaders sometimes may lose themselves in the power and authority that they have and therefore they always need to have somebody they trust to tell them whether they are still being real, whether they are still themselves. In relation to facebook and other social networking sites, Ms. Ong also said that we have the tendency to lose ourselves and sometimes we are even the ones trying to change who we truly are. I realized that there are a million different people using social network sites for that purpose. That I may even be one of them is a possibility.

Although I agree with Ms. Ong on the aspect that people tend to have different personalities on the web, but it’s not certain that we may have the tendency to lose ourselves. People change and most of the time they are happy with their choices, maybe the only thing they have to ask their loved ones is whether the change is for the better or for the worse. Then that’s the time they need to get back to reality.

So how does the ability to get back on face to face communication, having a vision and having the best leaders act out that vision all build up to? It’s CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) or the power of advocacy. Ms. Ong said that the best organizations are those who have an advocacy or a CSR sector. She said that advocacies can enact culture change not only for the organization but it may also affect those outside the organization.

I agree with Ms. Ong on this one. With all the election advocacies introduced by different organizations such as GMA’s eleksyon 2010, ABS-CBN’s boto mo, ipatrol mo, and DDB’s ako mismo, it’s no wonder that many of the youth today are realizing that there is something that they can do. On the one hand, what Ms. Ong, I think, failed to mention is how these advocacies could continue long after the hype and popularity has died down.

Some organizations have advocacies that could be continued (disregarding advocacies put up for specific events) but most fail to continue it on to the next season. What’s scary for me is that after the May 2010 elections will these advocacies of ABS-CBN and GMA still be there in the next presidential elections or will it just stay up to the Election Day itself.

I agree with Ms. Ong that face to face communication comes in hand with leadership and that leaders are the vision-makers. But it’s also important that the vision should really tap everyone and that with an organization’s advocacy, the leader’s vision is the enduring force for its continuation.

Uniquely US…

13th lecture post

On the talk of Mr. Paolo Pangan of Yehey Philippines

• He said that there was a time that TIME magazine featured YOU as person of the year.  It means that every one of us has the capacity to change the way things are through technology or even by the power of the net. I think that we could do it; we could even change the world. In the process, we could even change how our country is doing right now through the internet and going back to my last blog on the 2010 elections, the internet has helped the advocacies of different companies to reach the whole population.

• That Americans have never used multiply to build a store, Only Filipinos do it. I think that we Filipinos are real risk takers than most Americans. We try most things that other people think are weird or ridiculous but it is in these “no fear” attitude we have  on doing things online shows that we have an edge over them.   Having put up sites on multiply and even friendster has given many Filipinos the chance to start their own businesses and explore their creative talent. It also enabled more people to gain more profits without having to deal with costs that go along with building a real shop.   On why we call Yahoo messenger as YM and not as IM (instant messaging), I think makes us more unique. It states the fact that we know the trend but we don’t necessarily follow everything.

The internet truly has given us the power but sometimes we need to look back and ask ourselves, how we can use it to do better or even the question has it changed us.  We need to always be on the edge and to never lose that uniqueness we have. Just like us Filipinos having a store on multiply, being creative and at the same time using that creativity to open doors to possibilities gives us an advantage. Maybe in the near future, it’s possible that our multiply stores could take over the world and be known as the country who became the center of the business world through multiply.

Making it Viral: A day about Noodles and FOAFs

12th Lecture POST

I had a great time doing the viral video project with my group mates. We had a great time making it and the title was just really funny: “mind your own noodles.” After showing the video in class, our task now was to promote the video. We promoted it through broadcasting, individual messaging and social networking. We tried to make use of all our social networking sites and tapped all our acquaintances, FOAF (friend of another friend) and all the people we know who could help us make it viral.

During the promotion week, I think I also exhausted all the possibilities of getting people to view it just like my group mates. I even went back to my old friendster account and made a shout out regarding the video link.

Also I tapped all those who were part of my friends list, including my old classmates in grade school. Though I just looked at the stats only twice during that week, I thought that the number of hits (I saw the final stats on our report since Nash got the stats the night before or the morning before the report) was fairly good. I think that the music (people really liked it as shown on the comments) and the competition on a simple funny thing such as spicy Korean noodles made people watch it.

We also learned that it’s better to test it out by not putting things like “we need it in class, or please click it because its,” because people would only click it since they would like to help you but not for the reason that it looks like an interesting video link.

After making the video, seeing all our videos in class and comparing it with other popular viral videos (those that had been featured back in TIME’s 100 list or in other top video lists) I realized that videos become viral because the people doing it liked what they were doing or sometimes it’s just something spontaneous/unexpected.

Just like those really popular viral videos, I saw that my classmates enjoyed what they were doing and they too believed that other people might like it too and that’s why people clicked and watched it.

Here’s a link to our video …have fun!

MIND YOUR OWN NOODLES!!

http://vimeo.com/6465229

or

http://vimeo.com/tag:koreanspicynoodles

PRSP: looking at the kid in the mirror

11th Lecture Post

Hi! Woah! It’s been a really long time since I got back to writing my thoughts here. To start it out, I would like to share something about the PRSP which happened last September.  I didn’t go to class that day since we were required to attend the PRSP in my other class. Though I missed the chance to watch the viral videos, I still got lucky since everyone had promoted their links the following week so I got to watch it.

All throughout the conference the resounding words spoken by all the speakers was: start the change.  They say that the youth is the hope of the future, that we are the change makers. But looking back, I wondered how difficult it is to start the change, starting from within us.

Sure, we are “the youth”, “the torch”, “the light”, the hope of the future” but for me these are compliments that should not be given to us all the time. These praises and compliments, I believe are hard earned and I think those who deserve it are the ones who spoke at the conference, the ones who have given us the inspiration and the dream that we can make a change.

Listening to Governor Padaca, I was amazed at how she never gave up nor let her disability prevent her from giving service to others. Even if her rival for governor was a very strong candidate and whose family had never lost a fight, still she had beaten the odds and won over the people. Sometimes I wonder, where people like her (those with disabilities) get their strength from and how they keep on going and why they never lose hope that everything will become better.

Thinking back, Kuya Efren was also like the governor, he may not have had physical difficulties, but he had financial problems. Even he did not let something that big get in the way of doing great things for others. I believe that these two people had something they wanted to prove, they both wanted to change how others view them and didn’t let these problems prevent them from going where they wanted to go. I think that they have inspired us to look into what we have right now and to see that the things we see as problems are not problems at all and that we should look at things at a different perspective.

The ones who really surprised me and I must say encouraged me to start thinking how to help others were Illac Diaz and Bam Aquino (who was able to come the following day). I always wanted to be an entrepreneur but I also wanted to become a social worker. The problem was how I could help people while building a business at the same time. What Bam Aquino did for his social business enterprise (rags to riches) inspired me that it is possible to think of ways on how I could help the less fortunate by building a business together with their talent. That business could actually be connected with a social endeavor.

Reflecting on what Bam Aquino said, I guess the question is what talents of our kapwa Filipinos could we use or help improve and turn into something that could actually generate profit. His social business enterprise did not only generate income but helped empower the payatas women and made them realize that there is a brighter future that awaits them.

Illac Diaz on the other hand, showed me that it is possible to use your talents to help people. He said that we should give people a hand-up not a handout similar to “teach a man how to fish and you’ll feed him for a lifetime”.  I think that we as students could help others have a better life too. In Diaz’s case, he used his talents in architecture to help build homes and schools. In our case, we could teach out of school youth what we learn in school or help street children how to read and write. We could even have an outreach program to teach less fortunate teens that love to dance, sing, draw and write and share with them our talents.

All these people are worthy of being called the change makers. The challenge for us is to make ourselves, deserving, to be called this, as the lyrics from MJ’s songs says: “If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change”.

LOOK at yourself first

WHAT’S UP? : Organizations and their use of NEW SOCIAL MEDIA

10^th lecture post

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING NEW

People always look up whenever they are trying to look for answers (whether they’re praying, looking at the ceiling hoping the answer to question #4 would suddenly pop up or just searching for some new idea).

But what about organizations, they have tried to seek answers on how to improve their organizations, bulk up their customer database or to attract people.  They are trying to reach out to as many people as possible and most of them believe that the way to do it is through new social media (NSM).

All throughout the presentations, I was actually wondering as to whether new social media is something that these organizations start with or is it just used as a means for continuation. For example, do organizations generally try to attract their clients through NSM or do they start first by engaging people through TRIMEDIA (such a print advertisements or commercials) then continue on with the use of NSM.

Through the presentations, some have shown that some orgs do use NSM as a stepping stone while others use it as a continuing tool of their engagement strategy. Some orgs still do believe that TRIMEDIA has the much bigger capacity to attract their customers. I guess in our country TRIMEDIA could really reach a bigger number and variety (different demographics) of people than NSM since a big number of people still use  TRIMEDIA.

Another question is whether these NSM strategies do work for the organization?  Even though there are measures presented I believe that feedback from the customers or those who are not part of the organization are really important. Feedback from those outside the org will actually help pinpoint whether the NSM being used is actually reaching customers or not.

I do believe that the change to New Social Media (NSM) from Trimedia would not be abrupt but at a gradual pace. Organizations are still trying the old tried and tested avenues (TRIMEDIA) of communicating with their target market but as times change they are also adapting to new things (NSM) which would even pave the way for another communication evolution.

PRSP: ENCOURAGING THE YOUTH TO TAKE THE LEAD

9^th lecture post

Random post

I was definitely lucky to have attended the eliminations for the PRSP during our class last2 Saturday.

Though I would like to discuss here what the groups had presented as well as some of the comments made by the selected panel, I think it would be best to reserve it for later since the competition is not yet over. :)

All throughout the presentations of the different groups, I was actually thinking when I was going to register myself (I should have registered last2 year when I turned 18, but forgot to).

I know I should have registered.  Just yesterday while watching TV, the BOTO MO, IPATROL MO commercials popped up, and again reminded people  to register (what a coincidence, haha) at the same time my mom said: “O carmina mag-register  ka na, wag mo nang paabutin ng October”.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GIVING YOUR VOTE

Aside from all the things they say that it’s important to give your vote since it’s your duty and right. As well as it would give you the feeling of having a hand in the elections. It’s important because it’s the first step to making change possible.

The saying that “every vote does count” says it all. Even if you are just an ordinary person, your vote will always count because even one vote could make a difference.

Remember that movie, ELECTIONS starring Reese Witherspoon, she won by just one vote and I guess she did deserve the post, since she was responsible and she really worked hard at it even if she was a know-it-all.

WHY SOME PEOPLE DON’T CARE

I know a few people who haven’t yet registered just like me.  Last election, others whom I know did not register until the last day of registration. And well there are others who just register but don’t really care.

First, I guess it’s the process: lining up for a whole day (and up till the next day for some) at the COMELEC office doesn’t really sound appealing to some. Also if you called ahead of time to ask about requirements then go to that government office, then when you’re finally at the head of the line, they’ll suddenly say that some of your requirements are still incomplete which makes you really irritated and will most likely lead to you, choosing not to register at all.

Second, I guess it’s the government itself: some people I talk to are always saying that change cannot be possible, that their votes won’t really matter since those that have the money and the power (in short those who’ll cheat) will always win no matter what.  Our head of government is the best example. Some people I know still have that positive outlook and are encouraging me to join rallies and protests because as they say “the fight is not yet over until you believe it’s over, there will always be hope”.

Third, will change ever be possible?:  some people will tell you, the Philippines will never change, it’s the same 10 years ago, and it will still be the same 10years after. I guess some people have already lost that mindset of anticipating for a better future for our country, that even if they do something, things they say will always stay the same.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PRSP CASE STUDY COMPETITION

I hope that the PRSP case study competition would actually open more doors for people to care about the elections, especially the youth who as the line goes “are the hope of the future.”

I hope that the education sector, especially universities and colleges as well as the DEPED would really take into consideration the ideas presented by the PRSP contestants. I am hoping that this would really give way to first-time voters to be aware of the significance of elections and to help them enact change.

I always believed that our generation today is completely different from our parents’ generation. But as we take a look back at how CORY AQUINO became an agent of change and those everyday commercials (ako mismo, boto mo ipatrol mo), it reminds us that we have one thing in common. It is about giving value to making elections clean, honest and effective because both our generation and our parents’ generation believed that change could truly be possible.